electrical problem...help!

The setup in my car is a JL 12w7 in a high output box powered by a JL 1000/1v2 slash amp. I am using my stock car battery and I did NOT do a big 3 upgrade.

This setup worked without any problems for a couple weeks. However, yesterday I was driving and I turned the head unit from volume 0 to 47 (max is 60) very quickly. There was a very bass heavy song on and I also had the air conditioning on. When the volume got up to 47 all these warning lights flashed on my dashboard. Keep in mind that I had played my system at that volume level almost every day for the past 2 weeks without issue. However, this particular time, I cranked the volume up pretty quick. The warning lights on the dashboard were the following:

-ABS Fault
-Brake light on
-Stabilitrak issue (either an error or saying it was off)
-Check Engine Light On
-Check Engine message on the display
-Contact Dealer with a red X flashing

Also, my gas gauge was all the way down on empty even though I had 3/4 tank of gas.

I pulled over and had the car towed to the dealership. They weren't able to look at it until Thursday morning. They looked at it all day and said they don't know what to do. They said that they had never encountered something like this before. They said that whenever they turn the car on, all the warning lights come on and the gas gauge and other gauges go to empty. They think it's an electrical problem and said they are going to start ripping my dash apart tomorrow to fix it.

I am pretty sure that this problem was caused by rapidly turning up the head unit quickly. My car's alternator puts out 130 amps not under load. And the JL 1000/1 is rated to take 90 amps at max (could be higher). So, if I had the AC going and I turned the head unit up quickly, could this have caused a voltage surge and messed up the electrical system?

Assuming the shop fixes all this (and hopefully doesn't charge me since my car is under warranty), what can I do to prevent this from happening again? Do I need to do the big 3 upgrade? I read online that you should do the big 3 upgrade if your amp pulls more than 800 watts RMS or if your headlights dim. My headlights dim and my amp pulls 1,000 watts RMS. Also, I read online that my stock battery is small. So, should I....

Please let me know which of the above three items I should do to prevent this from happening again.

I got an estimate from a local shop and they want $200 for the labor and wires to do the big 3 upgrade. And they want $330 for a VMAX CT-1000 charge tank, and $90 PAC-200 battery isolator. It comes out to around $860 with tax and labor. Is this reasonable?

I think I might be OK with my alternator since it is putting out 130 amps. A dedicated battery for the amp and the big 3 upgrade might be enough. But I definitely don't want this to happen again after they fix the car. They don't even know how to fix the car at this point

Re: electrical problem...help!

Please let me know which of the above three items I should do to prevent this from happening again.

I got an estimate from a local shop and they want $200 for the labor and wires to do the big 3 upgrade. And they want $330 for a VMAX CT-1000 charge tank, and $90 PAC-200 battery isolator. It comes out to around $860 with tax and labor. Is this reasonable?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Doing the Big 3 for starters and adding a battery would definitely help you even if your problem is unrelated.

IMO Thats an insane price for a big 3 upgrade...
That VMAX and PAC isolator cost right around half of what they're charging online

Re: electrical problem...help!

second - pics of your install - specifically wiring connections for power and ground (at amp and battery).

i assume you routed power wire straight from amp to battery that was fused at the battery.

#1 - replace the battery then clear the codes.

The car is a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT with a 6 liter V8 engine. I did more research and found out that my stock alternator is rated at 108 Amps under load and that the JL 1000/1 pulls 100 Amps at high volumes. 108 and 100 seems awfully close. And since I didn't do the big 3 upgrade, 108 might be an even lower number, correct?

My car is still currently at the dealership service department so I unfortunately can't post pics of the install. I had the system installed at an audio shop so I do not know if they routed power wire straight from amp to battery that was fused at the battery.

Should I tell the dealership to replace the battery and clear the codes? They've been looking at it for 4 days and have no idea how to fix it. They are ripping up the dashboard today to hunt for the problem.... I am not too optimistic that they will find it.

Re: electrical problem...help!

that cars alt is designed to power itself and thats it not your amp. you will not get 100 amps off of it to the amp, get a new front battery and one in the back with the big three, pref a large deep cycle battery. Youre working on trashing a nice car. Congrats to your stupidity.

Re: electrical problem...help!

Originally Posted by esilvers

Doing the Big 3 for starters and adding a battery would definitely help you even if your problem is unrelated.

I don't mind doing the Big 3 and adding a second battery. However, i am wondering if a 2nd battery is unnecessary. I called JL Audio and spoke to a technical rep for mobile audio. They said that for the 1000/1 amp, they always recommend a high output upgraded alternator. They said that the stock alternators on cars aren't meant to handle much more than the stock equipment on the car. Since the JL 1000/1 is very power hungry, they highly recommended getting an upgraded alternator. He also told me that a 2nd battery would be unnecessary. Is this true???? He said that a 2nd battery would help the system to play longer once the car is turned off but that a HO alternator should be the primary thing I upgrade. He also recommended the Big 3.

So do I need the 2nd battery or am I good with just upgrading the alternator and doing the big 3? Will this most likely prevent the problem that I described in the original post from happening again? I am really worried now about electrical problems in my car. And the dealership can't even diagnose what happened to it...

Re: electrical problem...help!

Originally Posted by john.mulvehill

The car is a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT with a 6 liter V8 engine. I did more research and found out that my stock alternator is rated at 108 Amps under load and that the JL 1000/1 pulls 100 Amps at high volumes. 108 and 100 seems awfully close. And since I didn't do the big 3 upgrade, 108 might be an even lower number, correct?

My car is still currently at the dealership service department so I unfortunately can't post pics of the install. I had the system installed at an audio shop so I do not know if they routed power wire straight from amp to battery that was fused at the battery.

Should I tell the dealership to replace the battery and clear the codes? They've been looking at it for 4 days and have no idea how to fix it. They are ripping up the dashboard today to hunt for the problem.... I am not too optimistic that they will find it.

I hope you don't end up massively overpaying for your setup...
How much did you pay for initial install?

Re: electrical problem...help!

Originally Posted by john.mulvehill

I don't mind doing the Big 3 and adding a second battery. However, i am wondering if a 2nd battery is unnecessary. I called JL Audio and spoke to a technical rep for mobile audio. They said that for the 1000/1 amp, they always recommend a high output upgraded alternator. They said that the stock alternators on cars aren't meant to handle much more than the stock equipment on the car. Since the JL 1000/1 is very power hungry, they highly recommended getting an upgraded alternator. He also told me that a 2nd battery would be unnecessary. Is this true???? He said that a 2nd battery would help the system to play longer once the car is turned off but that a HO alternator should be the primary thing I upgrade. He also recommended the Big 3.

So do I need the 2nd battery or am I good with just upgrading the alternator and doing the big 3? Will this most likely prevent the problem that I described in the original post from happening again? I am really worried now about electrical problems in my car. And the dealership can't even diagnose what happened to it...

Upgrading your Alt would definitely be the absolute end all to any car audio power related problems. Plus you pretty much have to upgrade the Big 3 just to put a HO Alt in. When I said add a battery I just meant replace yours under the hood with something bigger/more powerful. Now If you're gonna add second batteries I'm thinking do it AFTER the Alt upgrade.

Re: electrical problem...help!

an HO alt allows you to use the car and play your system while maintaining voltage above 13V (hopefully around 14V).

the stock alt only does ~100A of output above 1500RPM, at idle it will be about half. that is true with most alts.

when you shop for an alt, look for an output curve.

a second battery is sometimes helpful - depends on the system and the usage. A second battery will only help you maintain 12.5V, you need the alt to supply enough current to feed the amp and the entire car (lighting, A/C, engine, etc.) in order to maintain 13.V or greater.

your main battery is pretty important - always upgrade that first to a nice AGM that is as large as you can fit. Kinetik makes a good battery.

Re: electrical problem...help!

so i just got a call from the dealership. they said that they disconnected the sound equipment from my factory head unit and all the lights went away and the car behaves fine now.

what does this mean? i am really hoping there isn't an issue with the amp or sub now...

Also, I had that wiring setup between the amp/sub and head unit done 2 years ago when I got the car.

Why would the lights have all gone off when they disconnected the wires from the amp/sub going to the head unit? I want to be able to use my sound equipment again...I'm confused about what the reason is why the lights will come on if I plug the sound equipment back in......?

Should I get something like the JL Cleansweep to hook up my system rather than tapping into the factory head unit? Is there a chance that my 1000/1 Amplifier is screwed up? Or that my battery or alternator are screwed up?

Re: electrical problem...help!

so i just got a call from the dealership. they said that they disconnected the sound equipment from my factory head unit and all the lights went away and the car behaves fine now.

what does this mean? i am really hoping there isn't an issue with the amp or sub now...

Also, I had that wiring setup between the amp/sub and head unit done 2 years ago when I got the car.

Why would the lights have all gone off when they disconnected the wires from the amp/sub going to the head unit? I want to be able to use my sound equipment again...I'm confused about what the reason is why the lights will come on if I plug the sound equipment back in......?

Should I get something like the JL Cleansweep to hook up my system rather than tapping into the factory head unit? Is there a chance that my 1000/1 Amplifier is screwed up? Or that my battery or alternator are screwed up?

you need to:

a
go get your car from the dealership and leave all the audio stuff un hooked
b
test - or have your ALL audio gear tested
if it all checks out ok
c
install it correctly back in your car

to test your audio gear - you will need a bunch of knoledge on how it all works and how to hook it all up. if you do not have this
then find some one or place that does. my guess = your amp has been running on low voltage since origonal install
because you have no battery reserve / or high out put alternator - or even upgraded wiring its like trying to drink a milkshake thru a coffee straw on the amp like that - so amp may be effed up. maby not
maby your wiring was effed up.

maby the dealership just un hooked the negative on your battery for 5 minutes and maby threw your battery on a charger for a little while - then it all was magicly ok again becauase the computer re set it self. - in my old corvette - the factory computer would NOT function at all unless the battery voltage was above 10.2 volts... so things like spark ignition and fuel injection do not work under 10.2 volts.